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NATIONAL DISCOURSE 



DELIVERED IN THE 



Central Presbyterian Church, 



WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, 



BY THE PASTOR, 

Rev. aff'. WISWELL, 



ON SABBATH MORNING, JULY 12, 1863. 



" Pe t^ut glomllj, ht ^m glorjt hi t^e ^ori>. 



WILMINGTON : 

HENKY KOKEL, PKINTEB, 

South East corner Fifth and Market Streets. 
1863. 



DISCOURSE. 



He stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Pbilis- 
tines, and the Lord wrought a threat victory. " He that glorieth let him 
^lory in the Lord " — 2d Sam. xxiii, 12. 2d Cor. x, 17. 

Under a Theocratic government, it was usual to refer all great 
and momeatous events to Grod. It was through Him that empires 
and kingdoms rose, flourished and declined. It was by Him that 
kings reigned and princes decreed justice. He crowned and he also 
uncrowned the heads of the monarch and the mighty ones. 

If the hosts went forth to battle and were wreathed with the 
laurel of victory, it was Jeliovah who wrought it, and if they were 
overwhelmed and vanquished, it was accounted for on the ground of 
His sore displeasure. 

My text occurs in the historical account cf the famous generals 
and chieftains who fought under David. The sacred historian goes 
over the catalogaie of these illustrious names, and you will no- 
■tice that, however splendid their achievements, the honor is not in a 
single instance given to the man ; but it was the Lord who wrought 
by them, who is counted worthy of all praise. 

Now, I know of no change in the moral government of the world 
Tvhereby this order is reversed. Whether it be a Patriarchy,, a 
Monarchy or a Theocracy, an Autocracy or a Democracy, it is the same 
God who reigns and controls the destinies of men. Unseen, yet 
mighty and triumphant is the divine hand in all the great affairs of 
the world. He orders the grand procession of the nations. He 
marshals the royal and controlling forces of tlie world. " Thus saitU 
the Lord God, remove the diadem, take off the crown, exalt hiui 
that is low and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, 
overturn it, and it shall be no more until he come whose right it is 
and I will give it him." What mighty and sententious utterances 
are these ? How like the utterances of a Supreme and Almighty 
Being, who can do what he will with his own. The God of glory 
sitteth upon the circle of the world, and all its thronging inhabit- 
ants are as nothing before him. The skillful and mighty com- 
mander of Israel stood defiant in the midst of the Philistine host to 
defend his land from their ravages and rapine ; but his arm was 
powerless, until Jehovah nerved it for the victorious blow ! Uut 
when He put forth his powerful hand and spake the word, all the 
fierce and terrible forces of wickedness trembled, and " at the breath 
of his nostrils they hasted away." 

This same God now reigns and does his will among the armies of 
heaven and the inhabitants of the world. To Him now as ever, all 
great events must be referred. To Him now, as ever, must the na- 
tions look and on his will must they wait. 




pros 

tor\-...v,.j ... K.^^..v.. j..iv;iii Luat jiuiiur lue i win nonor and they 
that despise me shall be h'ghtly esteemed." Here is the key ta 
national rise and national ruin. In the early history of this republic. 
the fathers habitually respected this great underlying principle of 
moral government. They habitually regarded the "fayor of God as ' 
necessary to national existence. In these later days of our history 
we have risked and perilled our national life, by losing sight of these 
divine landmarks. Happy day is that for us, which'' we trust has 
already dawned, when God shall be honored both in defeat and 
victory; when to him shall be referred our cause, from him sought 
all our successes ; when in the dark and saddened days of reverec 
and disaster, we shall humble ourselves under his mighty hand, and 
in the days of victory and exultant joy, we shall be"" ready, to ex-" 
claim from grateful and reverent hearts, "The Lord hath done great 
things for us whereof we are glad I" 

I presume it is not difficult fur you to see the bearing of these re- 
marks taken in connection with my test, upon our present circum- 
stances and the condition of our own country at this time. It is but 
as yesterday since we were in a state of the most intense and pain- 
ful excitement at the prospect of immediate war at our very doors. 
The cry of invasion sounded through our streets, " jMen's hearts 
were failing them for fear of the things" that were coniiMo: sudden- 
ly upon them. "To Arms ! to Arms I" was the rallying c^ill every- 
where. The stillness of the day of God was broken, the sanctuaries 
were well nigh deserted. There were hurry ings to and Iro, and the 
tramp of armed men was heard, heavy and' rapid, throuah our 
hitherto peaceful city, in preparation for defence and protection 
against the expected assault ot an insolent and rebellious host. But 
a few miles towards the setting sun quiet villages were already bein"- 
pillaged and seemingly nothing opposed the conquering armies of a 
haughty and cruel slave-power bent upon establishing their barba- 
rous and brutalizing institutions over all the loyal territory of the 
i-epublic, at the point of the bayonet and sword. The noble army 
of the government so often defeated was, we knew not where. In 
the midst of all this confusion, as if to make the pall still darker 
that was so fast settling down upon the expiring nation, the com- 
mander of that army was removed and his place supplied by a man 
who, while true and brave, was yet untried and unskilled in the lead 
if a great body of men. At farthest but a few brief days or hours 
ttnd he must meet a large army of invasion, flushed with almost un- 
jhecked successes. How could the prospect be darker ? To what 
oore hopeless straits could we be reduced ? Our nation's natal day, 
uillowed by so many joyful remembrances through more than four- 
score years of peace and unexampled prosperity, dawned at leno-th 
ipon the smoke and storm of battle — the clash and shock and deaf- 
>ning roar of 200,000 brave men in deadly conflict. Who could 
predict the result ? 



VVe could not be joyful, we could not sliout victory and Inde- 
pendence, for we knew not but every uionicnt we sliould hear of 
dreadful and overwhehnhif^ defeat. The curtain had not yet been 
lifted from that scene. (iod held it with his own strong hand. It 
stretched over all the land from East to West. The wondrous 
events that were being enacted we must not yet behold. How very 
painful was that suspense ? The sun of hope was almost totally 
eclipsed. Who of us has ever before known such a national birth- 
day as that ? Great things were done for us that day, but we knew 
it not ! Until at last slowly the curtain was uplifted and through 
that storm and fire of battle the glorious word victory flamed out 
upon t1ie nation's sight. The invading and defiant "armies of the 
aliens" were discomfited and put topflight in the cast, and on that 
very day the stronges-t hold of rebellion in the west surrendered to 
our victorious arms. The- great artery of traffic, the father of waters, 
was unbound and once more flowed peacefully and freely by the 
wicked city where rebel cannon has for more than two years bid de- 
fiance to its mighty stream of commerce. 

Suddenly the pall is raised from the nation's heart, and unre- 
strained, the joy of victory breaks forth from millions of tongues. 
The fountains of humanity are broken up and grateful multitudes 
stretch forth tlie hand of relief and comfort to the thousands of our 
l^rave and suffering countrymen, who stood like a massive wall 
against the savage assaults of rebellion, and fought these desperate 
battles of the llepublic with such unprecedented bravery. And now 
the names of our heroic leaders, Grant and Meade and Rosecrans, 
are on every tongue and a loyal people do them willing honors. 

Everybody says in the same breath these were famous victories. 
The instincts of the people pronounce these last the greatest victo- 
ries of the war, and by them the National anniversary is doubly 
glorious forever. 

We are all, doubtless, ready to pronounce these victories which 
culminated on our nation's natal day great victories ; and if we 
look more closely, we shall, I think, find abundant reasons for this 
judgment : 

1. Because they are victories over rebellion in the self-defence 
of a great nation. The fundamental idea of rebellion is that of 
crime. From the first rebellion against the supremacy of heaveu, 
down to the last rebellious act of man, it is evil, and only evil, and 
that continually. Authority — Government — is divine. Rebellion 
against such government and authority is human. The one is for 
man's safety and happiness, the other is sure to bring destruction 
and misery in its train. The one is sanctioned and approved of 
God for human welfare, the other is stamped with the curse of God 
as the destruction of order, safety and peace. The idea of civil 
government allows the possibility of rebellion and defiance to ite 
restraints. But for all this there is no excuse nor apology in the 
whole range of the divine economy. To speak of justifiable rebel- 



lion against legitimate government, is to reverse the entire order of 
Batnre— to subvert all the foundations of national safety — to turn 
order into chaos, and to mock the very names of virtue, order, har- 
mony and law. To deny the right of any government to put dowii 
rebellion against its authority, by every means and resource in its 
power, is to make oneself equally guilty with those who openly justi- 
fy the rebellious. To deny the right and duty of any government 
to overthrow rebellion and comperits subjects to respectlts authori- 
ty, IS equivalent to denying a nation's right to live. The inherent 
right to maintain its supremacy is involved in the primary idea of any 
government. Without this it is bat a name. Hence 'there never 
was, there never can be a justifiable rebellion against a legitimately 
constituted government while the world stands. Hence any victory 
of our government over rebellion against its life, is a ^■reat victorv 
and one over which every loyal and manly heart must rejoice. ' ' 

2. The nature and ends of this rebellion justify the opinion that 
these are great victories. Look at the history of its inception, run- 
ning back through forty yeai-s of secret plotting and scheming on. 
the part of the leading conspirators, to destroy this government? 

At the celebration of the birth-day of the second President of th& 
United States, on the 13th of April, 1830, a leading politician of South 
Carolina,='=gave a toast in these words: "The Union next to our liberty, 
the most dear. May we all remember that it can only be preserved 
by respecting the rights of the States, and distributin..- equally the 
benefits and burthens of the Union."! Here was thinly veiled the 
doctrine of nullification and secession, which, nursed and ripened 
into 30_ years of vigorous life, at length brought upon this devoted 
nation its present sore calamities. All doubt that first existed in 
any minds that while these loyal States have been pursuing the arts 
and cnterprizes of peace, the ambitious states of the disloyal South 
have been busily preparing for war, have long since been dispelled. 
What could not be accomplished by open voting and bargain, has 
been wrought by force, treachery and deceit, until at last^'the 'fruit 
fully ripe, was ready to be plucked from its prolific stem. 

Look at the nature of the rebellion. As it is utterly unjustifiable, 
so ulsp It IS without a shadow of provocation. The more closely you 
examine into the facts of history, the more will you be convinced that 
this vile onslaught upon the Federal Government is without cause 
.or_ reason. No one can be better authority on this point than the 
Yice President of the so-called Confederacy, who says, when point- 
ing out the evils of secession : 

•Tause, I entreat you, and consider for a moment wbat rensons you can 
give that will even satisfy yourselves in calraer inomeuts— wLat reasons can 
you give to your fellow-sufferers in the cslamity that it will bring upon us ^ 
What reasons can you give to the nations of the earth to ju.«tify it > Xbey 
will be the calm and deliberate judges in the case ; and to what cau^'e or on« 
overt act cnu you n.ime or p oint, on which to rest the plea of justification ? 

* John C. Calhoun, f Benton's Thirty Years in the Senate— 148, Vol. I: 



Wlial right hsj (he North assaiUd? What inlfrest nf it. c!„„,i, i . 
vaJeJ > What justice h„ hoea ,l.„led 1 l",""t cla m ?,n '^ , '"" '"■ 

''Whea we of the South demanrled the slave trade, or the irarortation'of Af 
rican. for the cultivation of our lands, did they not vield thP riJhf rnr* IZ 
years? When we asked a three fifths repre'^,en aCin CoSre f r^u^ 
^r.tZTJr' ?''°'"'^ '"^^'^ "« ^''^'^ anddeLnded Uereurn of 
allLi no w!?°! ^T"'' '' '^' ''''"''' "' t'^''^^ P^'-^""^ owing labor or 
allegiance, was it not incorporated in the Constitution, and a-ain ratified 
and strengthened in the Fugitive Slave law of 1850 ' ° 

"But do you reply that in many instances they have violated this com 

lo 'clnau'nUi^rth""/"'';"' '' '""'''^ ^nga^ernen's ? As tndivtl^ s'^d 
Kcal conimun ties thej- have done so ; but not by the sanction of government 
for that has always been true to Southern interests * govern^oient, 

,.nn!J!." ^^.^ overthrow of the American government, established by our 
founded on 'thT 'T""'"^. ""^ ^"■" "P ^-^ *^"''- «^^«t and blood.^nd 
BucS t1?, t H , '■°'? P»'°«'P'«« of Hiffkt, Justice and IIuniarMy ? And, aS 

other in,?sMot?r/"'^'';r*°^ Matesmen and patriots in this and 
-IZnZ,'- . -f 'i' •*''' ^'^'A/-'-^'^^/ ^o.«r,,m.«<_/Ae most equal in Us righu 
Z^Z\nV '^''''''''r'^' mo.;Z.„f.„, in its measures, and the Lit 

Thoneupon. ^"""^ '" ""' ''"'' '^ '"'"' '^"' '^' ^"" '^ ^'^'''^ ''>"' 

height of m«rr *°;"^"'P* to overthrow such a government as this, is the 
Ba7ction'normrvo\I/^^^ '^'^^ ""'^'"'^^^' to which I can neither le'nd n,y 

Look too, at the end proposerl by this rebellion. It is uothin- iTss 
tan tU destruction of JicpuMcau Libert^/ and free government on 
this vast continent. Makmo- occasion of the legitimate election of a 

,.rLT'n''n" 'V'°f'.P'^^^'"^^^P"''^'P^^« and antecedents did not 
prec sely tally with their own, under the false assumption of fiohtino- 
tor their rights, their liberties, and their homes, they sou-ht to des- 
troy the last vestige of liberty, make war on the rights of universal 
uuuan nature, and desolate the homes of thirty millions of hitherto 
nappy ana prosperous people. None knew better than they how 
sweet the sound of the sacred name of liberfj/ to American ears.— 
^lence they rang changes upon itwhile they were secretlyxisin.' every 
means to strangle and assassinate her in her last asyluni. 
^ Whoso has read the utterances of Southern demaso-ues for the 
iast ten years can have no lingering doubt that their^ fixed and set- 
tled purpose has been to destroy a free republican government bv 
n.ajont.cs, and establish in its stead an oligarchy, wherein the con- 
trnlhng classes of a slave power should sway the sceptre over a sub- 
jugated and servile people. 

Hear a few of the utterances of Southern Statesmen. Says a 
Greorg.a Senator, ^^ on the floors of Congress : 

"Drive the 'black Republican' out of the Temple of Liberty, or pull down 
Its pillars and involve him in a common ruin I"* . ^ ^ 

*R. Toombs. 



8 

A South Carolina Representative* thug pronounces his deliberate 
judgment : 

«« We have the issue upon us now ; and how are we to meet it ? I tell joo. 
feUow citizens, from the bottom of my heart, that the only mode which I 
think availrtble for meeting it, is just to tear the Constitution of the United 
States, trample it under foot and form a Southern Confederacy, every State of 
which will be a slaveholding State. [Loud and prolonged cheers.] I believe 
it, as I stand in the fi»ce of my Maker; I believe it on my responsibility to 
yoa as your honored representative, that the only hope of the South is in the 
South, and that the only availnble means of making that hope effective is to cut 
asunder the bonds that tie us together, and take our separate position in the family 
of nations. 1 hese are my opinions. They have always J)een my opinions. 
I have been a dinmionist from the time I could think. * * * . 

"Now, fellow citizens, I bavn told you very frankly and undis^pruisedly, 
that I believe the only hope of the South is in dissolving the bonds which connect 
us with the Government — in separating the living bo rly from the dead carcass. 
If I was the eoramnnder of an army, I never loouldpost a sentinel who would 
not swear that slavery is right. ****** 

«'I speak on my iixlividiial responsibiiity r If Fremont be elected President 
of the United Slates, I am for the people in thei- majesty rising above the law and 
leaders taking the p"wer in their own hands, going by concert or not b'j con- 
cert, and lai/ing the strong arm of Southern freemen upon the treasury and ar- 
ehieves of the Government." [Applause] 

Mr. Clingman, of Norih Carolina, in a speech in relation to the 
proper cau^e for disunion, says : — 

"In my judgment, the election of the presidential candidate of the Black 
Republican p-irty will furnish that cau«e. * * * * 

♦•No other 'overt acf can bo imperatively demand rosiatance on our part &9 
the simple electiou of their candidate. 

Th€se representative declarations are quite sufficient to show the 
animus of this rebellion. 

But this is not all. The purpose and chief end of the rebellion is 
to establish a government that shall extend and perpetuate human 
slavery. It is' to establish a type of society, having tor its central 
clement, the principle that " all men are not created equal ;" that 
one class has a right to property in another, and this without any 
necessary reference or regard to color. That "Slavery is the natunil 
and norm; 1 condition of the laboring man, whether white or bl:ick."t 
In tlie columns of perhaps the most influential newspaper ot the 
S(auth,| the principle is thus boldly stated ; 



i'Until recently, the defence of slavery hai labored under great difficulties 
because its apologists took baff-wsy ground. They confined the defence of 
alftvery to mere negro slavery; thereby giving up the slavery princple, aa- 
mitting other forms of slavery to be wrong Tbe line of defe. ce. however, 
is now changed Tbe South mainta'ns that slavery is 7ight, iiatural and 
necet^sary, and does not depend upon d-fference of complezto7u^ The laws Ot 
the slave States justify the holding of wuitb men tn bondage. 



* Preston S. Brooks, f Charleston Mercury. % Bicbmond Examiner. 



In the same journal We bare seen, within a few weeks, this decla- 
ration of principle. 

"The establishment of the Confederacy is ft distinct reaction apninst the 
whole coursi of the inistakm cizilization of the age. And this is the true reaaoa 
why we have been left without the sympathy of the nations until we con- 
quered th it sympathy with the sharp edge of our sword. For lAberty, 
EqualHy, Fraternity,' we have deUheraiely substituted Slavery, Svhordination, 
and Government. Those social and political problems which rack and tor- 
ture modern society we have undertaken to solve for ourselves, in our own 
way, and wpon our own principles. That 'among equals equality is 
right:' amotig those who Ate naturally unequal, eqnality is chaos; that 
there are slave races born to serve, master races born to govern ; — such are the 
fundamental principles which we inherit from the ancient world, which we 
lift up in the face of a perverse generation that has forgotten the wisdom of 
its fathers : by whose principles we live, and in their defense we have shown 
ourselves ready to die Reverently we feel that our Confederacy is a God- 
sent missionary to the nations, zvith great truths to preach. We must speak 
them boldly ; and whoso hath ears to hear let him hear." 

I speak of these opinions as showincr the nature and ohjects of the 
rebellion which is now being so mercilessly waged agiiin.st our na- 
tional authority. It is against the progress of civil and religion.^ 
liberty — against the progress of enlightened philanthropy — against 
the progress of civilization and intellectual retinement — against the 
spirit of the christian religion — -advancement of social order 
and happiness — against all the springs and incentives to virtue 
and sound morality, and finally against the universal and dear- 
est interests of mankind.'"'' The oppressed of every land look 
upon it with shuddering horror, and the oppressor is glee- 
ful at the faintest prospect of its success. Can any victory over 
such a rebellion be other than a great victory ? Can any truly loyal 
heart be other than joyful in every substantial tritimph of the fede- 
ral armies over such a rebel host ? There was a time when the fear 
of invasion by France thrilled the h^art of all England. Then the 
pulpits of the land sounded the alarm, and the watchmen in Zion's 
towers cried out to the people to bestir themselves. And when at 
length this dreadful burden of fear was lifted from the popular 
heart, the relief was so great that no words of joy could express it. 
The land was filled with shouts and exultations not unlike those of 
the Hebrew Prophetess as she stood upon the Eastern shores of the 
Egyptian sea. 

But how much luore have we to joy, and rejoice over every sig- 
nal defeat of this rebellion that never had its equal in violence and 

*Hon. Lewis Summers, Judge of the General Court of Virgiuia, and a 
Blaveholder, said, in a speech before the Virgiuia L'.'gislature, in 1832 (see 
''Richmond Whig " Jan. 15, 1832) : — 

•'A slave population exorcises the most pernicious influence upon the manners, 
habits, and character of those among whom it exists. Lisping infancy learns the 
vocabulary of abusive epithets, and struts the embri/o tyrant of its little 
domain. The conpciousuess ot superierr destiny takes possession of hi J mind 
at its earliest dawning, and love of power and rule 'grows with his growthjind 
strengthens with his strength.' Uole-^s enabled to rise above the operation 
of those powerful causes, he enters the world with miserable notions of self int' 
portance, and under the government of anu sb&idled temper." 



10 

■wickedness since the annals of our race began. Verily tlie Lord 
wrought a great victory on that day. Our children and our chil- 
dren's children shall declare it. 

3. It is a great victory because it hastens the time when 
multitudes through the disloyal South shall be set free from a forced 
allegiance to the slave power. From the first it has been evident 
that in many of the seceded States the larger portion of the people 
were unwillingly involved in this great crime against the govern- 
ment of their choice. . Nothing but the iron heel of a worse than 
Austrian despotism forced and has kept them in it. The history of 
this feature of the rebellion can never be written. The spirit of 
cruelty, vindictiveness and hate, shown towards the loyal people of 
the North has been unexampled. But who shall ever tell us of the 
unspeakable sufferings of the loyal thousands of the South whose 
every instinct revolted at this enormous crime against liberty and 
free government. I will not attempt to recount the ghastly record. 
Humanity and mercy shudder at it. We have been told much of 
the unity of the Southern people in this war of rebellion. Many 
have brought themselves to believe that they have acted as with 
one heart and one voice. But the true hi.-<tory of this boasted unity 
has been marked with blood. It has been wrought by cruelties 
which could only have their origin among a people where lashes, 
scourges and chains are not only a necessary but essential part of 
the social system. Enough has come to our knowledge by refugees 
from this fiendish tyranny, to convince us that only the faintest out- 
line of its hideousness can ever be known. 

"No words can picture the state of things that existed. All that Dante 
and Milton have told as of bell, falls short of what we eiperienced."* 

Could the people of many of the seceded States have been left 
free to their own election, without the fear and dread of the dungeon 
and the sword, never, never would they have broken away from the 
restraints of, and put themselves in armed opposition to a govern- 
ment that from the beginning has done nothing but protect and 
bless them. But they were goaded on by desperate men who were 
bent upon the destruction of the Republic that they might rule upon 
its ruins. Now I say that every victory that tends to set these 
loyal and unhappy people free is a great victory. 

But for victories such a state of things not only might but would 
overrun the entire free North. The threat that the Southern mas- 
ter would beat the roll-call of his slaves at the foot of Bunker Hill, 
would be literally executed. If some .skillful and brave general at 
the head of as brave an army of freemen as the sun ever shone upon, 
had not '• stood up in the midst of the land and defended i^," and 
slain the Philistines, what else but this had we to expect? This 
has been the bold proclamation of the leaders of this rebellion that 
they would destroy the government and subjugate the free people 
of tWe Northern States to the hated institutions of the slave power. 



*Loyal Tennesseean. 



11 

Victory, therefore, that foils such attempts and defeats the ends of 
tins rebelhon is a great victory. Well may we rejoice over every 
such triumph, and give God thanks as we do tliis day. 
_ This leads me to refer you to the author of these victories. While 
in my text it is said that the champion of Israel stood in the midst 
ot the land and defended it, you will notice it is added ^' the Lord 
wrought a great victory," and the Apostle adds : " let him that Hori- 
eth glory in the Lord/' In the midst of all our exultations over the 
triumph of our armies, let us not forget that in all this the hand of 
a mercitul God is clearly to be recognized. Greater proof than ever 
has it given us that He has a providential government over the 
world. He must be but a poor Christian and a careless observer 
who has failed to see through all these two long years of trial and 
of tears, a most remarkable combination of circumstances, showing- 
the overruling hand of God in our national afiairs. Our plans have 
been frustrated that His might succeed. Our works have been de- 
stroyed that His works might remain. Our hopes have been tempo- 
rarily disappointed that in the end we micrht have joy. The whole 
course of this rebellion has been but a continued mockery of all our 
human methods of reasoning. How often have we had the lii<.-hest 
and most exhihratmg prospects of splendid victory, and suddenly 
defeat has come upon us. We have had men in command of our 
armies upon whom the nation's heart had been fixed. AVe foolishly 
lauded them, we flattered them, we did everything but worship 
them and yet they disappointed us, and are to-day overwhelmed 
with disgrace. 

The most extensive and promising campaigns, that seemed only as 
heralds of the termination of the rebellion, have come to utter 
failure, and so from time to time we have been taught, sorely 
taught over the graves of thousands of the young and brave of the 
land, that It is not in man who walketh, to direct his steps; that the 
greatest Generals and the strongest armies do not always conquer. 
He who sits above, calmly watching the affairs of the nations, un- 
derstands the nature of the issue, and with Him it has been to say 
when we should have victory and when defeat. 

How many times since this fearful strusgle began have we re- 
alized the fullilment of that prophecy, " It^ shall be one day which 
shall bo known to the Lord, not day nor niaht, but it shall come to 
pass that at evening time it shall be light'?" When the shadows 
began to gather and the darkness was settling down upon the 
Jand,_ with almost midnight intensity, then as 'if by direct inter- 
Dosition, the hand of God opened aaain the o-ates of day 

Scarcely any days have been darker for'' our Country than those 
lately past; when rebellion, growing Tuore insolent and deliant, 
was marching boldly past our doors, hoping to call to its aid the 
treason and traitors through the loyal Statc^who have been so Ion- 
and persistently crying peace, and welcoming with shouts of wicked 
exultation every reverse of our arms. Upoirsuch the wanin- hopes 
Ot rebellion have been often reassured_an element of our population 



12 

more to be feared and dreaded than open enemies — because, wliile 
with one hand they have hehl out the olive branch, with the other 
they stood ready, with the assassinating spirit of a Cataline, to strilje 
the fair form of Liberty prostrate at the toot of the slave power. Those, 
I say, were dark days, when the capital of the nation was beleaguered; 
and our army, but recently repulsed and weakened, with a new and 
untried comniand'er, was the only barrier between us and destruction. 
The strongholds of the rebels in the West, bidding detiance to our 
forces, while the tramp of their armies and the thunder of their 
cannon were heard in all our dwellings in the East. Ah 1 then we 
knew not how it would go with us. Bui even then, God was with 
us. He gave us a good and God-fearing man for our army, and 
nerved it serried ranks with almost superhuman courage, lie made 
their '• bayonets think" and their right arms strong to strike for 
liberty and free government. lie gave them a will to contend with 
more than human devotion, not for us alone, but for all mankind. — 
He made the strongholds of our enemies weak, and the meridian 
sun of our nation's birth-day shone down on our victorious armies, 
both East and West, and upon the most staggering and mortal blow 
that has yet been given to the red-handed treason and rebellion. 
Surely it was Jehovah who wrought a great victory on that day. 

Fitting indeed was it that the Chief Magistrate of the nation 
should proclaim it thus, and call upon all the people to remem- 
ber and reverence the God of battles for righteous^ness, 
freedom and humanity. Seemly and appropriate indeed the Chris- 
tian modesty and principle that found expression in the congratuhi- 
tory order of the commanding General to his decimated but victorious 
army. In these things we may properly take fresh courage and 
hope. 

Do we glory in all this ? Yea we will glory ! But " he that 
gloricth let him glory in the Lord." Those who war for conquest, 
empire and power, can never claim the accompanying favor of a God 
of justice and equity. But those who war in defence of the great 
principles of truth, justice and the dearest rights of our common 
nature may be assured of the smiles of divine approval. 

War can only be justified when waged in defence of a just cause. 
It was upon this principle that our revolutionary struggle was jus- 
tifiable. It was in view of this principle, that the immortal chief- 
tain of that day could ask the divine blessing upon his feeble though 
faithful army and give thanks to his God, and our God for victory 
over the proud hosts of the world's mightiest empire. And if he 
could thus refer to God for help in gaining our national indepen- 
dence and founding the infant ilepublic, well may we do tlie same 
in our struggle to maintain and perpetuate them against the 
dark and unhallowed schemes of far worse internal foes. 

Ours is a contest so vast in its proportions, so far-reaching m 
its results upon our race, so sweeping in its range, that the mind 
fails to grasp it in all its stupendous parts. 

But of this let us be daily assured, that if ever a great paopli 



13 . 

were engaged in war for a just and sacred cau.e, we are that people 
If ever any people could claim the favor of heaven and consistently 
pi-ay for divme help, we can thus do. If ever in human history a 
contest was being waged upon which the approbation of the lovers 
of justice and truth, in heaven and on earth rested, this is such a 
contest. Fveluctantiy enough did we enter upon it, faintly scein'^ 
the dreadful calamities that must follow and the dark and narrow 
straits through which we must pass. But we solemnly believed 
that between war in self-defence and utter national ruin, there was 
left us no room for doubt or hesitation. Two years and a half of 
war has not only failed to change but has confirmed that opinion in 
every loyal iiiind. 

There is no retracing our steps. To give up this contest now is 
to acknowledge ourselves wrong from the beginning, to court the 
divme displeasure and incur the pity and scorn of posterity throucrh 
all iuture time. The end is not yet— do not let us so flatter ourselves. 
The time is not yet come when a just God sees that peace will be 
national safety. But he proclaims to us as to his jwople of old the 
time of the end, saying, ''If my people which are called by' my 
name shall humble thcojselves and pray and seek my face, and turn 
from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will for- 
give their sin and will heal their land." Our troubles will remain 
wuile their causes remain. And I believe that, toiceriny above all 
i/te rest of these ts the heaven-accursed institution of davery And 
et me add, what I believe you all are ready to assent to, I do not 
believe we shall ever see the end of this dreadful business while 
a vestige of it remains to blight the f^iir land in which we dwell 

AVhat shall I say of the thousandj? of our brethren and kindred 
fallen, over whose mangled and helpless bodies God has marched 
our armies thus far to victory ? And of other thousands who will 
wear the scars of many a sanguinary battle to their graves ! A 
great price is this to pay for our dear Country. But they deemed 
t not too great, to purchase a heritage which many of them shall 
1*0 ver enjoy ! 

" The honored dead, (he honored dead !. 
Oa every bill they lie, 
On every field of strife made red, 

By bloody victory, — 
The buglf'tf wild and warlike bLiet, 

Shall muster them no more; 
An army now might thunder past, 

And they heed not its roar, 
The starry fln^ 'ueath which they fought 

Id many a bloody day — 
From thejr cold graves'shall rouse them not 

For they tiive passed away. 
The land is holy where thfy fought 

And holy where they fell, 
For by their blood that land is bought, 

The land they loved so well. 
Then g'ory to that valiant band. 
The honored saviors of the land." 



.14 

Let us believe tliat tbe blood of our loyal countrymen has not 
been shed in vain. Let us still refer our cause to God and study to 
approve ourselves to him, and while with Christian fidelity to the great 
principles of civil and religious liberty, committed to us in trust, for 
generations yet unborn, we go forward, let us hope that, out from 
these fires of trial, He will yet bring us, a purified, grateful and 
obedient people. 

At the conclusion of the Discourse, the congregation united in 
singing the Christian Battle Hymn : 

Stand up for Jesus. 

Stnnd up ! stand up for Jesus ! 

Ye soldiers of the cross ; 
Lift high bis royal banner, 

It must not suffer loss; 
"Ye that are men, now serve him," 

Against unnumbered foes ; 
Your courage rise with danger, 

And strength to strength oppose. 

Stand up ! stand up for Jesus ! 

Stand in his strength alone; 
Tbe arm of flesh will fail you — 

Ye dare not trust your own ; 
Put on the gospel armor, 

And watching unto prayer, 
Wliere duty calls, or danger, 

lie never wanting there ! 

Stand up ! stand up for Jesus ! 

The strife will not be long ; 
This day the noise of battle. 

The nest the victor's song ; 
To himth.it overcometb, 

A crown of life i-ha!l be ; 
He with tbe King of glory 

Shall reign eternally ! 







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